In the Sun's Teary Reflection
by Darktiger2
Summary: SEQUEL TO 'IN THE MOON'S BLOODY SHADOW'. Leo's gone. He joined the foot. Now his family wants him back. But how do you get back someone whose been broken? Complete!
1. Prologue: Light

_Hey people! I'm back!_

_Anyways, just a friendly warning: **THIS IS A RATED 'R' STORY!** So just remember to be mature, 'kay? _

_Anyhow, this story won't be as bloody as the previous. It will be **much** more emotionally trying and emotionally torturing than the other, however. But don't worry, it won't be that bad. :grins:_

_**DISCAIMER:** I don't own anything, except the title of the story and the title of the chapters and the story plot. Everything else, I'm just borrowing._

_So, this chapter will be a prologue, or in other words a recap and a minor introduction. It will most likely be a really short one, and for that I apologize, but the story has got to start off somewhere, ne?_

_This story takes place right after Leo left. (read 'In the Moon's Bloody Shadow' first to understand) _

_So, a few things to note:_

_ITALICS will be personal thoughts.

* * *

_

Prologue: _Light_

_(Recap from 'In the Moon's Bloody Shadow')_

_:Leo looked away. "I'm really sorry guys, but you must understand something. I'm really sorry and I love you guys and I really thank you all for everything that you did, but now I really must go. And—" Leo said, pausing. "Whatever you do, DON'T come after me. I'm sorry."_

_Leo whispered, before whirling around and jumping onto the next roof, and then running off into the shadows._

_The elite turned and disappeared._

_Everyone else was left on top of the roof, with howling wind and rain soaking them:

* * *

_

_Well. He did it. He'd taken the last step and had run away. Run away from everything that he had worked so hard to preserve. He had spent years perfecting it, he had spent years preserving it, and now it was all gone._

_Just in one moment._

_One moment, one word, one thought, one wish; and it was gone._

_It was actually pretty funny once you really thought about it… You spend years and years, heck, all your life trying to perfect and preserve something; then just one moment destroys it all._

_Makes you kind of wonder what the heck our purpose is in our life. And why the heck we bother living it._

_In a way, it kind of reminded you of how pathetic and useless our lives are. But at the same time, it reminds us that even in the darkest part of our lives, there's still hope. There's still a chance._

_A chance, a hope, a desire, a dream. _

_Funny how death revolves around life, how life revolves around plight, how plight revolves around hope, how hope revolves around misery, how misery revolves around a chance, and how a chance all goes back to death and life._

_It's all a circle. And in the end, we all go back to the beginning…even if there is no real beginning._

Leo sighed as the foot headquarters came into view. The elite were following him, even though both he and they knew that he wouldn't turn back.

_He used to believe that. But after the last couple of weeks and what was happening now, he didn't believe anymore._

_It made him think of what he saw long ago in the tea leaves: the gun, the cross, and the tree. The gun sign came to be fulfilled. 'Hidden dangers'. Even the cross did come to be fulfilled. 'Self-sacrifice'. But the tree…the one that meant 'improvements in life'…that one never happened._

_And judging the way things were going, it never will.

* * *

_

_Hey! That's it for the prologue! Tune in for the next chapter!_

_RR please!_


	2. When Truth Shows

_Guess what! I just realized that there were Hungarian stories on Fanfic! Of course, there's only four of 'em and three are Harry Potter, but STILL! Maybe I should write a Hungarian Ninja Turtles fic…_

_Anyways, just a friendly warning: **THIS IS A RATED 'R' STORY!** So just remember to be mature, 'kay? _

_Anyhow, this story won't be as bloody as the previous. It will be **much** more emotionally trying and emotionally torturing than the other, however. But don't worry, it won't be that bad. :grins:_

_**DISCAIMER:** I don't own anything, except the title of the story and the title of the chapters and the story plot. Everything else, I'm just borrowing._

_This story takes place right after Leo left. (read 'In the Moon's Bloody Shadow' first to understand) _

_So, a few things to note:_

_ITALICS will be personal thoughts.

* * *

_

Chapter 1: _When truth shows_

Suddenly, Mikey sneezed.

Everyone jumped immediately at the sound, for each had been in his/her own little world.

"Oookay…" Raph started, eyebrows crossing in confusion, "_What_ the shell was _that_ all about?"

Casey's fists clenched, but April laid a trembling hand onto his arm. "Can we please get out of the rain?" She asked, sniffing.

Splinter nodded sympathetically, but Raph just crossed his arms. "HELL NO!" He yelled. "LEO JUST FUCKIN' LEFT AND I WANNA KNOW WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON!"

Splinter's ears twitched. "Raphael…" He began.

Raph winced. "Sorry, Sensei, but I'm just pissed."

Casey gritted his teeth. He couldn't take it anymore. "You know, I'm GLAD he left! About time too!" He hissed, clenching his fists even more. "After all that, I'm surprised he didn't go earlier!"

Silence.

"W…wha…what?" Don asked, stuttering slightly.

April reached up quickly and pushed a dripping wet hair strand out of her face.

Splinter raised an eyebrow as he recognized her nervous habit. "Ms. O'Neil?"

April jumped at her name. "Sorry…" She said, fingering her hair lock, not yet looking at any of them. "It's just that…" She trailed off before pushing her hair back again, before fingering it again. She shivered suddenly as a cool breeze blew.

"Let us go inside." Splinter spoke up, noticing the shiver.

Raph made a sudden move, causing April to jump again. "But Master Splinter!—"

Splinter cut him off with a raise of his paw. "Enough Raphael. You, yourself may not notice, but all of us are chilled to the bone! Ms. O'Neil will tell us when we get warmed up."

Raph gritted his teeth, but nodded. "Fine."

Splinter nodded, before leading the way back down the stairs, with Mikey, Raph, and Don following him. April started to follow, but paused. "Casey? You coming?"

Casey glared at her. "_They_ ain't taking a single step into **my** house! _They_ ain't welcome!—"

April sighed, wrapping her hands around herself. "First of all, it's not just _your_ house. It's mine too. Second of all, Master Splinter's there, so 'they', as you say it, can't do anything. Third, I doubt they'd do anything, because whatever Leo did in that deal of his, seemed to knock them back to their senses, incase you haven't noticed. So I think that it's a pretty safe bet to let them into the house."

Casey winced before looking away. "It's just that…_Leo_ made a bet. With the Shredder of all people! I mean, how desperate must someone get to make a deal with the devil, so to speak?"

April looked down at the floor of the roof. "Whom else could he turn to?" She whispered, letting tears run down her face.

* * *

Leo sat still, not really believing what was happening. If it hadn't been for the big Foot logo next to him, he would've said that this all was a dream. But no. Currently, he was sitting still in a small room that the elite had locked him in, as they went to inform the Shredder that he had kept his part.

Leo sighed as he shifted his leg, despite the fact that he didn't really want to move, let alone have the energy to move. Sitting still also decreased the pain he felt. _Great._ _All alone in the enemy's quarters. Smart move, Leo. If you ever get out of here, by some pure luck or some twisted chance, then what will you do? You betrayed your family, your friends, and most of all yourself. Do you really think they'll welcome you back with open arms?_

Leo groaned as he buried his face into his hands. He hadn't thought of that. He truly hadn't.

* * *

April sat uncomfortably in a chair, clutching a mug of coffee in her shaking hands. Casey sat next to her.

Master Splinter and the other three turtles sat across from them, waiting patiently.

At last, Don spoke up. "So…we're home…" He started, before trailing off, not really knowing what else to say.

April shifted. "So you want to know what's going on?" She questioned.

Raph threw his hands up in the air. "No, we don't!" He snapped sarcastically. "We just want to sit here for the rest of our lives, enjoying the panicky thoughts that we have!"

April winced at what he said, while Splinter shot his son a reproving glare. "Enough! We are sorry, Ms. O'Neil. Please forgive my son's rudeness."

Casey suddenly jumped to his feet. "NO! HELL NO! WE LET YOU THREE—" Casey pointed at the three turtles, "WALTZ INTO OUR HOME, AFTER ALL THAT'S HAPPENED, AND NOW YOU'RE ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS!—"

April quickly jumped up. "Casey-"

Casey suddenly rounded to her. "NO! DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE _ACTUALLY_ GOING TO FORGIVE THEM! AFTER ALL THAT-"

"LEO FORGAVE THEM, SO WHY CAN'T WE?" April yelled, stunning Casey into silence. "AND BEFORE YOU GO BERRATING THEM, THERE'S TWO THINGS YOU GOT TO REMEMBER! ONE: WE _INVITED_ THEM IN HERE! TWO: HOW THE HELL CAN YOU BERRATE THEM FOR SOMETHING THEY DON'T EVEN REMEMBER DOING?"

April finished yelling, huffing a little, before turning to Splinter. "We humbly accept your apology, Master Splinter." She said, bowing a little.

Splinter just sat there, mirroring the stunned look his sons were wearing.

"And as for YOU! YOU GO AND COOL DOWN IN THERE AND THINK ABOUT WHAT I SAID AND WHAT LEO DID! AND DON'T COME BACK TILL YOU'VE GOTTEN IT!"

Casey nodded mutely, before shakily walking out of the kitchen. April watched him go, before sinking down into her chair, and burying her face in her arms.

Nobody said anything. April finally raised her head, and brushed away pieces of hair that her fallen into her face. "Sorry about that…it's been a real rough day on us both…" She said quietly, not looking at them.

Splinter leaned back on his chair. "I think it is time to tell us what is going on here, Ms. O'Neil."

April winced as she heard the 'tell us or else' tone that Splinter rarely used. She sighed before taking a deep breath.

* * *

Leo shook his head at the irony. Considering that he was a turtle, some would say he was an animal. But considering that he acted like a human, others would say he was a human. Don always said that they would be considered "were-turtles", were meaning man, and turtle, meaning (of course) turtle.

Now, as soon as the Shredder had checked to make sure it was really him, not some clone that came; had taken to treat him more like an imprisoned animal, than anything.

_Just my luck._ Leo thought, shaking his head as he remembered.

So, he had been dragged into an underground portion of the building, to where it turned out that there were prison cells. And he'd been lead to the very end, down a small winding corridor, to a separate prison cell, which had a small cage like portion in a small corner of it.

So that was where he sat, the cage being too small for him to stand or stretch around much. Not to mention that the Shredder had taken the liberty of making sure that his _left_ leg was chained down to the floor. His _left_ of all things! His left ankle was broken, and hurt, and the chain was doing nothing to help relieve it.

Worst of all, the small cage was located right under a small window, which peered out onto the grass. But, since it was raining, the rain poured in through the broken glass, and dripped down the wall and into the cage.

Leo sighed as he let his head rest on the freezing, wet wall. _At least my bros are back to normal…

* * *

_

It took April a good two hours to explain everything that had happened in the last four weeks. She and Casey knew of everything, including the burns and the shutting in a closet for two weeks, and everything else that had happened, because they had found blood everywhere.

When she was done, a thick silence settled in the kitchen.

"You're joking."

Every eye turned to look at Mikey. His eyes were wide with shock and horror. He was looking straight at April.

"Please say that you're joking, April. Please say that this is all a joke and…and…"

Mikey trailed off as April shook her head, fresh tears threatening. "I'm so sorry, Mikey…I wish…I wish I could say that it's all a joke…"

Mikey shook his head, clamping his hands over his ears. "Stop it! Stop it! This isn't funny! Leo! LEO! **_LEO!"_**

Mikey yelled, before jumping up and running out of the kitchen. "MIKEY!" Don yelled after him, jumping up and running after him. Raph followed the suit, with Splinter and April trailing behind him.

Mikey ran around the apartment, yanking open doors and calling Leo's name. Finally, he stopped in front of the last door, panting hard. He reached out to open it.

"MIKEY! DON'T!" April yelled, as she saw which door it was.

But Mikey opened it and let out a surprised yell, promptly before fainting.

* * *

Leo sighed as he watched his breath slowly rise and disappear. He shivered as he felt the cold wind blow in through the window.

A few minutes earlier, a foot soldier had come in and gave him his dinner.

Leo laughed bitterly as his eyes caught the 'dinner'. It was a piece of soggy and moldy bread, with a pitcher of water beside it. Leo wrinkled his nose at the water. He wasn't quite sure that it was sanitary…

Grabbing the pitcher, he poured the content out of it, before holding it to the wall. Water from the rain quickly filled the pitcher up. Once it was filled to the rim, Leo poured it out again, before filling it again. He repeated this five more times, before filling the pitcher up to the rim for the last time and taking a long sip out of it.

The bread, he didn't touch.

* * *

_Well. That's it! Tune in for the continuation_


	3. Sadness Settles

_Anyways, just a friendly warning: **THIS IS A RATED 'R' STORY!** So just remember to be mature, 'kay? _

_Anyhow, this story won't be as bloody as the previous. It will be **much** more emotionally trying and emotionally torturing than the other, however. But don't worry, it won't be that bad. :grins:_

_**DISCAIMER:** I don't own anything, except the title of the story and the title of the chapters and the story plot. Everything else, I'm just borrowing._

_This story takes place right after Leo left. (read 'In the Moon's Bloody Shadow' first to understand) _

_So, a few things to note:_

_ITALICS will be personal thoughts.

* * *

_

Chapter 2: _Sadness settles_

Raph jumped forward and caught Mikey just as he was about to hit the ground. "Mike? MIKEY?" He yelled, shaking his youngest brother a little.

Don knelt beside Raph. "Don't, Raph. He's out cold…"

Raph looked up at his elder brother. "Why?"

Don frowned, before standing up. He stepped over Mikey's feet and peered into the room. Immediately, he staggered before he sat down heavily onto the floor, breathing heavily.

"Don?" Raph questioned, looking wide-eyed at his brother, before laying Mikey gently to the side and standing up. "What's wrong? What's in that room?"

Don suddenly looked at him. "DON'T RAPH!" He yelled, almost begging, but too late, Raph had already gone inside the room.

* * *

Raph peered around quickly, allowing his eyes to adjust, when he realized that this was a closet.

Raph blinked. He could've sworn that there were dark splotches in here…

Suddenly he paled. Those splotches weren't some sort of horrid paint job. They were blood.

_Shit. Shit, shit, shit. No wonder Mikey fainted and Don almost did too!_ Raph thought as he slowly grasped the true horror of what April told him. They hadn't _abused_ Leo. They had almost _murdered_ him.

The blood was everywhere. Everywhere on the walls, on the floor, there was no portion of the room that wasn't caked with inch thick blood.

Raph shuddered, before stepping outside again. He closed his eyes before leaning onto the wall, trying to get together his bearings.

"My son?"

Raph opened his eyes and quickly looked down to the floor. "I need to go to the bathroom." He muttered, before rushing off.

* * *

Splinter watched him go, before glancing at his two remaining sons and at a weeping April. He glanced into the room and immediately understood.

* * *

Raph dunked his head into the cold water before raising his head and glancing at his reflection.

And almost fainted.

There was small splotches of blood splattered onto the mirror. Raph quickly glanced onto the floor, but saw footsteps a bit larger than his, outlined in blood. "Shit." Raph whispered, as he followed the stumbling footsteps as they staggered back and tripped over the edge of the bathtub.

Raph's eyes scanned the bathtub, before recoiling in horror. The bathtub was outlined with red and there were bloody hand marks as if someone had tried to grasp the edge of the tub, but slipped.

"Oh god…" Raph whispered, as he sank down onto the bathroom tiles, still staring at the tub.

"You get it now?"

Raph didn't move as he heard Casey move behind him.

"Damn. How the hell are we gonna fix Leo up now?" Raph asked, more to himself than Casey.

"You really changed." It wasn't a question. "April was right." A sigh. "As she always is."

Raph snickered. "Yeah. Just like Leo is…was." He whispered, wincing at the past tense usage.

Raph suddenly looked behind him at Casey. "I'm sorry. Really. I…didn't know…no, I _did _know, but—"

Casey cut him off. "Yeah. I guess I was being real hard on ya'll as well. Whatever Leo did, seemed to have returned you to norm."

Raph let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah. And I'm glad too…but not at the cost of us loosing Leo…"

Casey nodded. "We're gonna get him back…"

Raph suddenly grinned. "DUH! If we didn't, then we wouldn't call ourselves 'family'. We ain't leave no one behind. And besides…it's a great chance to kick the Shred-head's ass!"

Casey suddenly laughed. "I wouldn't mind getting my hands on him either…of all the things he did…what he made you guys do…" Casey hissed, looking angry again.

Raph nodded, looking angry and determined at the same time. "Whatever happens, we're getting Leo back, and the Shred-head's got a one-way ticket to hell!"

"Count me in!"

* * *

Leo drew his knees up, trying really hard to ignore the aches and pangs of pain that shot through them.

So far, the Foot let him be. But he could see the moon starting to set; it wasn't long before morning and the deal to start.

The rain had stopped and the clouds had moved on, allowing the moon to peek through. So far, he'd been in enemy territory for a good six-seven hours.

Leo jumped as he heard thunder growling in the distance, before groaning. _When will it finally stop raining?_ He asked himself, knowing that only he could answer himself.

Darker clouds covered the moon again, and rain began to pour down. Leo sighed as he felt his body go numb by the freezing rain.

Leo suddenly sneezed. He sighed. _Not a good sign. How am I supposed to fight the Shredder if I'm sick?_

Leo just finished that thought, when he began to cough violently. When he finally stopped, he sneezed again and felt blood trickle down his chin. Leo let out a small breath as he wiped the blood away.

Leo watched his breath rise again as he sat still, just watching the shadows on the ceiling. Dimly he wondered what his brothers were doing, and wondered whether Emily was doing okay…

He sighed as he leaned back into the cool rain. Strangely, he felt hot. That was kind of weird, since it was freezing a second ago…

Leo shrugged. Right now, he didn't really care. He was going to die anyway. And he'd die in enemy hands without honor…Leo sighed. He deserved it all. After all, he'd abandoned his brothers and friends…

The moon peeked out from behind the clouds for a second. Leo glanced at it, before looking away again. The moon was setting.

The deal was only effective in the day. But day was slowly approaching…and so was the deal.

* * *

_Sorry for the short chappie! But tune in for the continuation._


	4. But Hope Returns

_Sorry it took so long to update! The stupid people decided that I have to take the AIMS, which is an Arizona test that if you don't pass, you can't graduate from High School! The nerve! I just got here about five months ago! Not even half a year has passed, and they're making me write the AIMS. Stupid huh?_

_And then I had a huge fight with my parents. I wanna go away from home for college. But no! I'm not allowed. Geez. I can't even pick the college I'm gonna go to! Sucks huh?_

_Anyways, here's the story._

_**DISCAIMER:** I don't own anything, except the title of the story and the title of the chapters and the story plot. Everything else, I'm just borrowing._

_So, a few things to note:_

_Words in ITALICS are THOUGHTS. _

_Words in :italics: will be something else……_

_**BOLD** will be lyrics of songs that I'll put in.

* * *

_

Chapter 3: _But hope returns_

Leo was dozing in the corner when he realized that the cell was lighter. Much lighter.

Leo sighed as he shook his head. Day was coming at last. _Why do good things never last?_ He thought sadly, as he watched the rain clouds become a lighter shade of gray.

Leo sighed again as he shifted into a more comfortable position, before hissing in agony as white-hot pain shot through his broken ankle.

Leo looked down at his ankle, before wincing. The chain had cut into his ankle, as it had swollen in the night. Leo leaned back onto the cold, wet wall, before his ears picked up distant footsteps.

_Damn_. He silently cursed, knowing what was going to happen.

He closed his eyes and bowed his head in humiliation as the footsteps echoed closer. But when the door began to open, Leo quickly raised his head again. _Not yet._ He thought, feeling a little stronger and determined, _He hasn't won yet!_

The door swung open and Oroku Saki stepped in. Leo noticed that he was alone. _Well…I am wounded and sick…not to mention in a cage and chained down…what harm could I do to him?_

"Comfortable?"

Leo eyes squinted in anger as he heard the mocking tone behind the question. "Oh, yes of course. I had the time of my life!" Leo answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Saki grinned, before laughing. "You still are not broken…how sad, really. It will be a pleasure to watch your spirit break."

Leo grinned back. "Suuure…." He replied sarcastically. "And it will be a pleasure to break your body into teeny tiny pieces for what you've done."

Saki let out a roar of laughter. "And _that_ threat comes from an _animal_ in a cage!"

Leo kept smiling. "If I'm an animal, then what are you?" He retorted.

Saki's eyes narrowed as he heard the insult. Suddenly, his eyes glinted red, before he drew out a small cube out from under his sleeve. "Enough of these word games. Time for your deal." He snapped.

Leo kept smiling, even though he knew what was next. He'd managed to irritate Saki, if not by much. "Just remember that I'll be watching." Leo warned, before Saki squeezed the cube and Leo went rigid.

Saki watched the turtle go rigid. Even though he'd hate to admit, this one was indeed more dangerous than the others. But, deals only last so long.

And both he and the turtle knew this.

* * *

_:Leo opened his eyes to realize that he was underwater. Panicking slightly, Leo quickly kicked out with his feet and propelled himself up to the glimmering surface._

_He burst up to the surface with a splash, sending the water in all directions, before he looked around, allowing his body to sort-of float in the water._

_He gasped. He was in the most beautiful place he'd ever seen. _

_There were snow-covered mountain peaks in the distant horizon, fields of lavish green grass bending in the breeze, small blue flowers peaking out from the blanket of green…_

_Leo smiled peacefully, before looking upwards. He could feel the warm, summer sun on his face. _

_The sky was a deep cerulean, with no hint of clouds anywhere._

_Leo let out a slow breath as he kept viewing the scenery with a deep sense of peace. Meanwhile, he allowed himself to drift with the current down the river._

_The river was crystal clear and surprisingly warm. He could dimly see fine white sand covering the bottom of the river, which was surprisingly deep. His feet couldn't even touch the bottom!_

_Leo blinked in sudden surprise as he realized that the current was taking him past a weeping willow. Without thinking, Leo reached out and grabbed one of it's slender branches, before tugging._

_The branch immediately stretched, before going rigid, and a shower of leaves fell from it. _

_Leo expected it to break any second from now, but to his surprise, the branch held._

_He smiled before pulling himself slowly towards the willow, the fallen leaves twirling past him in the current._

_When his foot touched the bottom of the river, he let the branch go. The branch immediately sprang up before bobbing up and down slowly. Another shower of leaves fell into the river as Leo calmly walked onto dry land._

_A cool breeze lazily twirled around him, rustling the willow leaves and bending the grass. Leo shivered a little before sitting down at the base of the willow, facing the crystal clear river._

_He brought his knees up closer towards him, as he watched the scenery before him._

_He wondered where he was. He wondered what happened._

_Suddenly, with a jolt, Leo remembered that his ankle was broken. Looking down at it, he saw that it was swollen and that it was cut, but there was no blood. Leo carefully touched it, expecting excruciating pain, but to his surprise, there was none._

_Then it all clicked._

"_Of course." He whispered, wincing as his voice echoed. Despite all the beauty, this place was so empty! "This is my inner mind…"_

_Leo rested his chin onto his knees. "So the deal is in effect…" He whispered, listening to the echo, before letting out a choked sob. Oh, how he hated himself right now._

_Leo glanced down at the river, expecting to see a bruised, beaten, broken reflection, but instead it showed him, his eyes glowing red before reverting back to normal._

_Leo sadly watched as his body, now controlled by Saki, began to carry out Saki's orders. Leo sighed but did not tear his eyes away from the river image.:

* * *

_

Everyone was sitting in the living room. Mikey had managed to wake up and was sitting on the floor, his knees drawn up to his chest, and he had buried his face into them, sobbing.

Don was fiddling with a gadget, which they all knew was just something that he did when he felt really stressed or upset about something. Everyone knew that they couldn't make him stop fiddling with it. Only Leo managed to do that, but he wasn't here.

Raph was just sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the floor, his head in his hands.

April was, once again, drinking coffee, but her hands shaking too much to keep it from spilling a little.

Master Splinter was sitting in his favorite chair, a thoughtful look on his face.

Casey was polishing his hockey stick, which once again, was a nervous habit.

Everyone was silent.

And the silence was deafening.

Finally, Don couldn't take it anymore. He slammed the gadget down onto the coffee table in front of him, wincing a little as the gadget broke again.

"Right. We're here. We know what's happened." Don stated. "So, with all that done and said, _what do we do?_"

Mikey shrugged. Casey looked at April, who looked at Raph, who looked at Splinter.

Splinter sighed. "We must go after Leonardo. But the question is _how?_ Leonardo is in the hands of the Shredder, and the Shredder will not let him go easily."

Don nodded solemly. "Plus, by the amount of…erm…_blood…_(he and everyone winced at the word) Leo's pretty wounded and most likely pretty weak. Plus, if he's dragged us out into the rain, and then stood out there for a good ten minutes, and, I'm just guessing here, the Shredder most likely didn't put him in such a warm place…then probably Leo's getting ill as well." Don took a deep breath. "On top of all that, is the deal that Leo spoke of. I don't really know, but most likely it will have something to do with what he did to us…"

Here, Mikey interrupted. "You mean make him go crazy and hurt people?"

Don cocked his head. "Most likely." He said after a thought. "Anyways, to sum it all up—"

"Leo's pretty injured, ill, and in other words, deep shit. Yeah, yeah, Don, we get it." Raph growled, leaning back onto the couch and crossing his arms.

Don nodded. "Pretty much."

Silence settled again.

After a few minutes, Splinter spoke up. "The deal of which Leonardo spoke…is clearly an obstacle. However, I do not believe Leonardo would have just walked into this sort of thing without a deal of his own…"

Don raised his eyes, a glimmer of hope shone through them. "A loophole?"

Splinter nodded.

Everyone felt a small ray of hope. Splinter was right. Leo _would_ do that sort of thing…

"So we must find that 'loophole' and use it against the Shredder." Splinter said, his eyes glittering with hope.

Raph sighed. "Now all we got to do is _find_ the loophole."

Don nodded. "And wait for the Foot to come out."

Mikey, April and Casey looked at him. "What for?"

Don smirked. "Leo went and is with the Foot. The Shredder would definitely want to use that, wouldn't he? So if he sends the Foot somewhere, then there is a huge chance that he'll send Leo with them. Therefore, if we find the Foot, we've found Leo."

* * *

_That's it people! Tune in for the continuation, and sorry for the wait!_


	5. Creating A Spark

_**DISCAIMER:** I don't own anything, except the title of the story and the title of the chapters and the story plot. Everything else, I'm just borrowing._

_So, a few things to note:_

_Words in ITALICS are THOUGHTS. _

_Words in :italics: will be something else……

* * *

_

Chapter 4: _Creating a spark_

Like everything, night passes quickly when you are busy. But when you are worrying, and doing nothing, each minute is an hour.

Don sighed as he watched Raph pace around the room, passing the couch where he sat, at least five times.

April had fallen asleep, despite all the coffee she had drunk. Mikey was sitting still, watching Raph pace as well, but his eyes far away.

Casey was rapidly flipping through the channels on the TV, before finally settling on the news channel.

Master Splinter was meditating in his favorite chair, but by the flickering of his ears, Don could tell that he was having trouble concentrating.

"…And we've just received a report that the Purple Dragons—"

Everyone froze at what the news lady was saying.

"Turn up the volume!" Raph hissed at Casey, who complied.

"—have just managed to seize a warehouse holding some of the top arsenal and weapons industry products. Currently, we have men stationed around the warehouse…but we'll update you later on this story. Now, onto Jamie with the—"

Casey turned the TV off at that. "I think we got 'em."

Raph rolled his eyes. "The stupid lady didn't tell us WHERE it was! How're we supposed to find it now?"

Don smiled. "She didn't need to. There's only one warehouse that holds the top arsenal and weapons products. It's located near the river, on the west side of the city…you know, the side they're about to demolish?"

Raph grinned, as he drew his sais. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Mikey nodded, looking really glum but angry at the same time. "Let's get Leo back."

Don nodded, before looking at the others. April had woken up during the TV announcement, and she was now watching them with wide eyes.

Casey slung his hockey stick over his shoulder. "I'm goin' and that's final."

Splinter sighed. "I will come with you. This will require all the help we can get…"

April sat up. "Should I come?"

Splinter shook his head. "No, but thank you, Ms. O'Neil. But if you will, would you mind moving back down to the Lair?"

Don started. "But Master Splinter! The Foot's still—"

Splinter smiled grimly. "It has been four weeks. The Shredder does not need his soldiers in the sewers when he has already reached his goal. And I doubt that he will think of us back there again…"

April nodded. "Good luck…and please bring Leo back."

Raph smirked. "We intend to."

* * *

Hun grinned as he watched the Foot soldiers running back and forth with supplies. They had managed to capture the warehouse, make those fools outside think that it was the Purple Dragons, and at the same time gather extra supplies of weapons.

The Foot were very good at hiding and escaping. Those fools outside had no clue that a handful of Foot soldiers were sneaking in and out of the warehouse with weapons _right under their noses._

Hun crossed his arms and leaned back onto an iron support beam, before smirking as he heard the beam creak and moan under his weight. To think that this warehouse, filled with so many weapons, had only been guarded by a couple hundred! The Foot had killed them all easily. The guards didn't even know what hit…killed…them.

Suddenly, a shift above him distracted him from his thoughts. Looking up, he saw a small silhouette sitting on a horizontal beam about a meter above him.

He grinned. The arsenal and weapons weren't the only prize they had captured. "Don't like what we're doin'?"

The blue-banded turtle shot him a glare. "I could care less."

Hun chuckled as he eyed the horrid condition the turtle was in. Despite all that _it_ had gone through, it still had the nerve to stand up to him and his Master. But the Master _did_ warn him that _it_ would be a handful, despite the Master controlling him. The deal made sure of that.

But Hun wasn't worried. After all, his Master had a way of crushing deals. This deal would last a week, at most.

"They're coming."

Hun looked up at the turtle. "What's that freak?"

The turtle looked down at him. "_They_ are coming."

Hun shrugged. "Let them come. See if I care."

"They'll…crush you." It came out haltedly, as if _it_ was struggling to say it.

"We'll see. You know what to do." Hun snapped, before walking off to see the Foot's progress.

The turtle watched him go, gritting his teeth. "Yes…mast—I know." He snapped, growling in anger.

_:Leo gritted his teeth as he fought against the irresistible urge to punch the river image._

"_I WON'T say it! You hear me, Saki? You CAN'T MAKE ME!" He yelled at the image, shaking in anger._

_He knew it was hopeless, but it helped him feel that he still had some control over himself…if not much._

_Leo sighed as he forced himself to calm down. 'Anger won't help the situation…' He told himself, before taking a deep breath. Then he chuckled._

"_I'm starting to act like Raph…how funny. Does that mean Raph's going to act like me?"_

_He whispered to himself, listening to the echoes that echoed around him. He knew that he was alone. And only he would answer himself._

_Leo sighed before looking down at his hands. They were still in fists. Leo slowly unclenched them, before looking at them. They were scarred, bruised and burned. Sighing again, he looked back at his reflection._

'_Raph…his brothers…They were all excellent fighters…a bit lazy…but very skilled.' Leo smirked to himself as he remembered how he'd have to drag them all, especially Mikey, kicking and screaming to training. But as they all grew older, and the threat became more real, they had gone more willingly._

_And Saki knew that. Both he and Leo knew this. They both also knew that each had a flaw. _

_Mikey was too energetic. This was all right, but he had a tendency to be TOO energetic, which caused him to be clumsy. He was always hitting himself with his nunchucku's, falling over during katas, slipping and falling during sparing…_

_Saki had no use for clumsy fighters._

_Don. The technical genius. He was very useful, not just because of his geniusness, but he was the one who could be very deadly with just a Bo staff…if he wanted to. But Don was the more peaceful of the group. He'd rather fiddle with a new gadget than fight. _

_And Saki already had his own technical geniuses. He didn't need one more._

_Then came Raph. He was a hothead with an attitude and a pair of sais to go with it. But, he did like to be hardheaded and go out and do his own things. He liked going against what people told him to. He liked running off during battles and do what he thought would work._

_Saki had no use for soldiers who didn't listen to him._

_Of course, he, himself, had a flaw as well. He never said a word, never complained. He put others before himself. These may seem like virtues, but he was the one who almost always got hurt, either in the physical or mental sense… _

_But that just made him perfect. Saki needed those soldiers who would never complain, jump to follow every command he had…right down to the last word. He needed those soldiers who would shield and protect him before themselves. _

_He needed soldiers that were efficient killers and efficient fighters when needed to be._

_And sadly, he fit that role.:

* * *

_

They hid in the shadows, watching for any openings.

Humans had surrounded the warehouse, watching, waiting.

And despite all their tries, the Foot were sneaking in and out of the warehouse, unseen, and unheard.

Raph gritted his teeth. "How do we get in?" He whispered, looking at the others.

Casey shrugged, fingering his bat. Mikey shook his head and shrugged as well, indicating that he had no clue.

"The police are swarming the place…" Don whispered, looking around. "And the Foot's sneaking in and out from an underground entrance…so that leaves us with the back way."

"Back way?" Raph asked quietly.

Don nodded. "Every warehouse has a back way. Especially if they need to smuggle stuff in unseen." He explained quietly, before hinting. "And I have a hunch to where it might be."

* * *

Leo's head snapped up. Jumping down, he landed on fours before straightening.

His wounds and ankle did not bother him. Saki made sure of that.

"They're coming in the back way." He informed Hun.

Hun shrugged. "Get into your place then, freak."

* * *

Don hinted silently towards a door, bolted and chained. It was hidden so well that one wouldn't have noticed it unless it was pointed out.

Splinter frowned. "Careful my sons, they may be waiting…"

Casey shrugged. "Then let's not make 'em wait any longer…"

Raph quickly picked the lock on the chains. He'd been doing it for years and he was good at it…

Then, he carefully opened the door and stepped in, cautious for anything out of place.

When nothing happened, he hinted for the others to come in.

Just then, as the others stepped in, the lights came on, momentarily blinding them.

When their eyes adjusted, they found themselves facing a huge army of Foot soldiers, two elites and Hun.

"Damn…" Raph said, drawing his sais.

"You took the words right outta my mouth, Raph." Don said, gripping his staff.

Hun smirked. "Well, well, well. What have we here? A group of _freaks_?"

Raph grinned. "The only freak I see here is _you_."

Hun chuckled darkly. "Big talk for a little green _lizard._"

"Turtle. TURTLE!" Don snapped, clearly not in the mood. "Honestly, even YOU'd be bright enough to _realize_ the difference!"

Hun smirked. "Doesn't matter what you are, you green frog. You're in our way and…wait. You seem to be missing a member…" He added, mockingly. "Where's that freak in blue?"

Mikey shrugged. "Hoped you could tell us. We didn't come over here for a tea party you know."

"Too bad. I got the tea and cookies right here…" Hun said, cracking his knuckles.

Raph snapped. He'd been through enough tonight, and he was PISSED! He didn't need no wise-cracking ass to make jokes about the situation!

Gripping his sais, he jumped at Hun, aiming for his head.

But before he could even touch him, a fist came out of nowhere and hit him square on the cheek.

Raph landed hard on the ground, sliding back a bit.

Sitting up, a bit dazed, Raph looked at what hit him.

Hun's smirk got even wider. "Oh yeah…THAT'S where the blue freak's gone…he joined US…"

* * *

Allright! Now we're heading somewhere! (to a brick wall…Joking!) Anyways, please review 


	6. Which Turns Into A Light

_**DISCAIMER:** I don't own anything, except the title of the story and the title of the chapters and the story plot. Everything else, I'm just borrowing._

_So, a few things to note:_

_Words in ITALICS are THOUGHTS. _

_Words in :italics: will be something else……

* * *

_

Chapter 5: _Which turns into a light_

Stunned silence filled the place as the surprised group stared at the attacker.

It was none other than Leo. (A/N: Bet none of you could guess, huh? _Add sarcasm here_)

Raph slowly stood, wincing at how horrible his elder brother looked. It was one thing to hear about what you've been doing, but it's a whole 'nother thing to see it.

Leo was standing tall, but stiffly, glaring at them, his usually blue eyes filled with spirit were now hallow and blank.

One side of his face was completely black and blue and swollen. The other side had a huge gash running down from his ear to his chin, with dried blood around it. There was also dried blood around the back of his head. The usual sapphire-blue bandanna was now crimson with dried blood.

His neck was black and blue as well, with what looked like fingerprints. Near his collarbone, there was another gash, however, this one was old and was already starting to fade.

His chest had long and short bruises, as if he'd been beaten with a long and a short stick. There were also huge and long gashes everywhere, some old, and some fresh.

His arms and legs were a whole 'nother story however. His arms had long, thin gashes on them, starting from his shoulders and stretching down to his hands. The hands themselves were burned and raw with small gashes there as well. There were also multiple bruises that looked like handprints. His legs also had many gashes on them, they too stretching from his thighs down to his ankles. There were also long bruises there as well. But his left ankle was held in a weird position, indicating that it was broken. It looked swollen as well, with a thin cut across it.

All of them had to admit that Leo looked worse than the time when Leo crashed into April's apartment through the window, bruised and broken. (A/N: Remember April's place?)

Hun smirked as he watched the enemy study their latest 'prize'. "What's up? Can't handle the truth, freaks? All the violence went to your heads and ya took it out on your bro." Hun shook his head mockingly. "Lucky Master was forgiving—"

Raph snapped. "'FORGIVING', MY ASS! YOUR _MASTER_" he said that with utmost hatred, "IS A FUCKIN' NO GOOD PIECE OF SHIT THAT I'LL BE GOODAMN **HAPPY** TO DESTROY! I'LL TEAR YOUR MASTER INTO TINY MICROSCOPIC PIECES!"

Hun laughed. "'Microscopic'! Ha! _That_ word exists in your vocabulary? Maybe you aren't so inferior after all…"

* * *

_:Leo winced. "Bad move, Hun. If there's one thing you shouldn't say to Raph, is say that he's inferior.":

* * *

_

Raph clenched his hands so tight in a fist that his nails literally dug into his palms. "Are you saying that I'm _stupid_?" Raph hissed in a very calm like manner, however, his eyes were ablaze. "Are you saying that I'm an _idiot_? That I'm a brainless slow-witted _fool_?"

With each word, Raph's voice rose higher.

His family, knowing VERY well that the most important line NEVER to be crossed, has just been crossed. They winced and slowly backed away, knowing that Raph could be murderous when THAT angry. Only Leo managed to ever step over the lines and survive…with all of his limbs intact and still remain sane. Everyone else…well…it's kinder not to say.

Raph cracked his knuckles as a slow, insane smile crept onto his face. "First of all, I find out that I abused my own brother; second, I find out that he sacrificed himself to get us all sane; third, I find out that the Shred-head's usin' my brother as a lil' toy to do his dirty work for 'im; and fourth, YOU are standin' here, calling ME an IDIOT! Well, see ya in hell!" Raph hissed, jumping over Leo, grabbing his Sais from the ground, and plunging one of them straight through a random foot soldier's heart.

Then, in a flash, Raph drew out his Sai and then did an uppercut, catching Hun on the arm deeply.

Raph grinned. "Who's the inferior fool now, huh?"

Hun smirked. "You." Was all he said, before jumping away. Raph blinked in surprise before feeling something disturbing his _ki_ (fighter's spirit; sort of like an invisible aura shield). Twisting around, Raph managed to dodge a katana blade aimed for his head.

Leo didn't even blink as he drove his blade right through the floor. Quickly doing a swipe with his other katana, which Raph managed to dodge, he stood up, yanking the blade out of the floor.

Hun smirked as he watched. "Kill them." He said to Leo. "Our job here is done." With that, the foot soldiers disappeared (only the dead one remained), the elite and Hun both faded into smoke.

Leo didn't even blink at the order. But inside…

_:Leo stood up, growling in anger. "Kill them? KILL THEM?" Leo smirked. "I don't think so! MY deal protects them from THAT!"_

_With that, Leo took a deep breath before diving into the river, swimming straight towards the bottom._

_There was a whirl of color, then…:_

"I TOLD you to LEAVE ME ALONE!" Leo hissed, sheathing his Katanas, gritting his teeth as the pain returned full-throttle.

Raph blinked. "Leo?" He questioned dropping his Sais.

Leo glared at them. "Why? WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME BE?"

Don cocked his head. "You're our brother, Leo! We can't just abandon you—"

Leo's glare only intensified. "Don't you see? I stop being your brother when Shredder's deal is in effect! I become a killing machine during the day…" Leo's eyes widened as he clamped his hands over his mouth. "Damn…I wasn't supposed to say…" He whispered, looking horrified.

But it was too late to take it back. Leo knew. Realization had already dawned on the others' faces, indicating they had heard and understood.

_Get back here, NOW, slave._

Leo winced as he heard Saki's voice echo angrily in his head. Quickly turning, Leo tried to run, but a hand grabbed his wrist. Leo immediately froze, shielding his face.

Raph, caught off guard at how Leo reacted, accidentally let him go.

Leo, feeling the hand let him go, took the chance to disappear into the shadows.

Raph made to go after him, but a furry paw on his shoulder stopped him. "Let him go, my son. I believe he is already in a very bad situation…"

Don sighed. "At least he left us a clue…but could you believe how horrid he looked? God! I never…I didn't think—"

Don left off, choking on tears. Raph nodded sadly. "But how do we get 'im back? The Shred-head's gonna be real tight on security…"

Don wiped away the tears. "We're gonna have to do it at night. Towards midnight. That's when Leo said he'd be sane, therefore we won't have to worry about him chopping our heads off. But with him injured and ill…and with that ankle…it's gonna be tough…but I think I know how we can pull it off."

"How, my son?"

Don smiled. "Raph, Mikey, do you remember what the Shredder held in his hand the night he attacked us?"

Both of his brothers were caught off guard at that. Raph shrugged. "I wasn't paying much attention. I was more busy tryin' to fight off the elite…"

Mikey thought a bit. "Didn't he hold somethin' black?"

Raph looked thoughtful. "Yeah! He did! It was defiantly black…but what does that have to do with anythin', Don?"

Don smiled. "Because the Shredder held a small black cube that managed to force our souls into the farthest part of our mind, forcing us into ourselves, while the Shredder had free range on our bodies."

Casey, who'd been listening quietly, finally spoke up. "So ya sayin' that that thin' is what's makin' Leo all crazy?"

Don nodded. "But that cube looks real vulnerable. I bet if you squeeze it, it will release its hold on Leo. So we're gonna need to sneak in, find Leo and the cube, get Leo's soul out of the cube, before smashing it. All the while battling thousands of Foot soldiers, elites, and the Shredder himself."

Raph shrugged. "So what are we waiting for?"

Splinter sighed. "We really have no other choice in this matter…we will strike at midnight."

* * *

Leo groaned as he came to in his cage. Groaning, he realized that his left ankle was chained down too tight, and his hands were also chained together, but both chains were too tight, cutting deeply into his hands and ankle, causing it to bleed.

Leo blinked away the fresh blood from his new wound, before reaching up with his shoulder to wipe away as much blood as he could.

Dimly he remembered getting back, the Shredder waiting for him. He'd sent everyone away, leaving only him, and an injured Leo behind.

"Your deal does not protect you from me." He had hissed. "You told them our deal. For that, you must be punished."

Leo winced as he remembered what happened after that. Saki had beaten him up so bad, that he couldn't stand when it was over. His broken ankle had been twisted underneath him, his old wounds had been reopened, and there were also huge claw marks everywhere on his body, an especially huge one on his face.

Leo sighed as he closed his eyes, letting the storm outside soak him with freezing water.

* * *

_Yes! Cheers. We're officially getting somewhere! We are close to being halfway through the story!_

_R&R PLEASE!_


	7. Thus When Darkness Lifts

_Sighs. Sorry for not updating in a long time. (yawns) I'm sleep-deprived. I haven't been able to sleep well for three weeks now. I can't go to sleep, but when I do, I wake up at ungodly times (two-three in the morning) and then I can't go back to sleep. One time I woke up at three and couldn't get back to sleep until six._

_Anyways, I've decided to update. (yawns again)_

_**DISCAIMER:** I don't own anything, except the title of the story and the title of the chapters and the story plot. Everything else, I'm just borrowing._

_So, a few things to note:_

_Words in ITALICS are THOUGHTS. _

_Words in :italics: will be something else……

* * *

_

Chapter 6: _Thus when darkness lifts_

It was night again. After a long, hard wait.

The night was cool and dark. Thick, stormy clouds covered the moon, and a freezing wind howled.

Raph sat on top of an abandoned building, waiting.

Suddenly, his shell-cell began to beep. Raph rolled his eyes, but opened it anyways, knowing exactly what they were going to say.

On normal days, he'd ignore it, but now he figured his brothers were stressed enough as it is.

Flipping it open, he gruffly answered. "Wha?"

"Raph! Thank god! Where the shell are ya?"

It was Don's voice. Raph smirked a little at the worried tone his usually tranquil brother used. "On top of the abandoned building. Why?"

"Because! You've been gone for a long time! Get your shell back here!"

Raph couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "I've been gone for an hour, Don."

"An hour too long! Get home NOW!"

* * *

With that, Don switched off his phone. He sighed before rubbing his eyes. He was tired and stressed. He didn't need one of his brothers lost or hurt or…

Don suddenly smirked. Now he knew exactly how Leo felt when one of them wandered off.

And Raph was just being his usual idiotic self. Don shook his head, still smiling. He never noticed until now, but how the hell did Leo manage Raph? He was such an idiot sometimes…

Don sighed again before standing up from his chair and walking out of his room.

* * *

Mikey sat on the couch, his knees drawn to his chin, his eyes watching the clock intently.

They were back in the apartment. Casey had phoned April, who was now in the Lair, telling her that they'll be home late. Raph had stormed off, Don had retreated to his room, Splinter was meditating in a separate room, and he was just sitting watching the clock.

They had planned to leave in about an hour. And Mikey was ready. Hell, if it wasn't for him promising not to leave until all of them were together in one place, he'd be gone already.

But he promised and he wasn't someone who broke promises. So he'd just sit and watch the clock until Raph came home and they could go get Leo.

* * *

Splinter sat still, meditating.

Leonardo had been training in the past year to contact another being spiritually. Now, Splinter hoped that all the training had not gone in vain.

'_My son?'

* * *

_

Leo lay on his side, facing the wall. Water from puddles were trickling down the walls, and dripping onto him from the little broken window.

He was freezing, but he didn't care. He was going to die anyway. Here, alone, without any honor—

'_My son?'_

Leo jerked his head up, listening intently. He thought he'd heard Splinter. But that wasn't possible, was it?

Leo listened for a few more minutes before laying his head back down. _It wasn't possible._ He thought, his heart sinking. _It just wasn't._

'_My son?'_

There it was again. Leo looked around confused, before remembering something. Splinter was contacting him spiritually.

Leo felt a faint smile on his face, before curling up a little more, trying to keep warm.

'_Go away.'

* * *

_

Splinter opened his eyes in surprise at that.

There was so much pain, loneliness, and rejection in just two simple words.

Closing his eyes again, he answered.

'_My son, why?'

* * *

_

Leo let out a dry chuckle, which immediately turned into coughs. Spitting out a little blood, Leo groaned in pain as his chest wounds were stressed.

He just wouldn't let up, would he?

'_Leave me alone.'

* * *

_

Splinter once again opened his eyes, breaking his concentration.

The voice was so weak, so tired.

'_We are coming for you, my son.'

* * *

_

Leo slowly closed his eyes, feeling unconsciousness coming to take him.

'_Don't.'_

And with that one word, he closed the link.

* * *

Raph stomped into the apartment, his hands into fists. He knew that as soon as he got home, they'd be off.

And he was ready.

He'd kill that fuckin' bastard before tearing his body to microscopic bits.

* * *

Don nodded to Raph from the couch where all of them were crowded, waiting for him. Splinter was also there, looking calm but troubled.

Raph looked at them. "Ready 'ta go?"

In silent agreement, all of them nodded.

Don spoke up. "I have a plan. It's not as good as Leo's but still." He paused before continuing. "I and Master Splinter will go after that little black cube. You," He pointed to Raph, "Mikey and Casey will go get Leo."

Raph snorted. "Sure. And how the hell are we supposed to find him?"

Don smiled sadly. "April and I did a quick scan of the building he's in. The building was built on an eighteenth century dungeon. I know, it sounds weird, but even New York had dungeons." Don explained quickly. "But the fact is, that most likely Shredder knew this and had it re-built. So, there's at least a good 80 percent chance that Leo's down there."

* * *

Silence.

It was so loud, despite what it meant.

There was a dim howling of the wind, and a faint dripping of water, but other than that, it was silent.

Leo sighed as he lay on the cold hard ground. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious. Maybe just two-three minutes. Maybe an hour. Who knows? He just kept drifting from consciousness to unconsciousness.

Leo sneezed suddenly, before groaning in pain and curling up a bit tighter. He wondered where his brothers were. Where they safe? What were they thinking about? Where were they?

* * *

They were currently crouching in the shadows of a building.

The clouds covered the moon, so there was no light to worry about, except for the streetlights, but they didn't shed so much light.

The building where Leo was was dark, except for a fire-logo on it, glowing in the dark.

Raph nodded to his family, who silently split up. Splinter and Don silently scaled the walls to get onto the roof, where they silently jumped over to the Shredder's building.

Raph, Mikey, and Casey meanwhile snuck towards the building, before circling it, searching for an easy way in.

* * *

Don silently cut a hole in one the windows, just wide enough for them to sneak in.

They stepped into a narrow corridor; small glowing lights on the floor lighted the pathway.

Splinter nodded to Don, and they both mutely began to run down the corridor, quickly finding the stairs and climbing them up.

They were heading to the very top room of the building, where Don and April were sure that was Saki's main headquarters.

* * *

It was Mikey who found a small door on the building's north side, hidden behind bushes. Raph had quickly picked the lock, and they quickly entered into a tiny hallway, leading down underground.

* * *

Splinter and Don managed to climb at least 20 flights of stairs before they managed to get onto the last level.

They easily found the door that lead to the big room, which they opened and snuck in. The room was empty save for a small candle glowing in the dark.

Splinter froze, his ears twitching.

"I am impressed."

Both of them whirled to their left.

The Shredder, clad with his armor and claws, stepped out of the shadows.

* * *

They had checked almost every room along the corridor. That is, they had checked about 50 small rooms. None of them held Leo.

They were all getting irritated and restless. What if Don was wrong and Leo _wasn't_ here?

Raph had stalked ahead, looking to see how many more doors they'd have to open. There were only 15 more. He groaned.

Then, he caught sight of a door, bolted shut and chained shut. Raph raised an eyebrow. That was weird. This door was closed tighter than the rest.

He quickly cut the chain with his Sai, before opening the door with some difficulty.

Immediately, he shivered. It was freezing in here!

But then he caught sight of a small section of the room cut off from the rest by bars in form of a cage. The cage was way too small for anyone to be comfortable in it.

But a small form, curled up, was in it.

Raph's eyes widened as he recognized the form. He quickly hinted for the others, who came running, before he quickly began to pick the lock on the cage.

* * *

"I am impressed." The Shredder repeated, his eyes glinting evilly. "I never would have believed that you would have come so quickly."

Splinter's ears twitched in anger. "You have attacked us and stolen my eldest. All through _dishonorable_ tricks! Did you not think we would react to this?"

Saki laughed. "Dishonorable tricks! I merely did what I could to rid of you pests."

"And where is the honor in your actions?"

"Why do I need honor? It is a bothersome trait." Saki paused. "But it was quite amusing to watch your eldest break under my control…"

Don gripped his staff so tightly that it was a wonder it didn't break.

Saki laughed as he noticed that. "Angry? Good." He held out his right hand, opening it slightly to show a small black cube. "Do you want this?" He taunted as he saw Don make a slight move.

He quickly snatched his hand back. "You'll have to beat me to get it."

Don jumped at him.

* * *

The stupid lock wouldn't open. So Raph cut it off, before yanking the cage door open, before quickly crawling into it.

He winced at how bad Leo looked. There was dried blood on his face from two diagonal cuts on his face. And there were more bruises on him then Raph remembered seeing.

"Leo?" He whispered, shaking his brother lightly. But his brother was passed out.

Raph sighed before noticing something on Leo's neck. There were three very dark fingerprints. He cocked his head.

Gingerly, Raph placed his hand on Leo's neck. His fingers fit the fingerprints perfectly.

Raph's eyes widened.

"Raph?"

Raph snatched his hands away as he looked up at Mikey. Mikey was looking at him sadly. Raph looked away, knowing that Mikey understood.

Taking a deep breath, Raph grabbed Leo, before slowly pushing him out of the cage. Mikey, who was outside, took hold of the edge of Leo's shell, and began to drag him out.

Casey, who was standing guard outside the door, suddenly burst in. "We've got company!"

* * *

Splinter was the only one who had managed not to get knocked into the wall. Now he, Don, was a whole 'nother story. He'd been knocked into the wall about 7 times…erm…8 times.

Don groaned as he massaged his head and stood up, only to have to duck again, barely missing a small knife thrown at him.

Splinter feigned a step to the left, before attacking from the right. Saki managed to block, but Splinter's tail wrapped around his right hand, forcing him to drop the cube.

Don saw this and he quickly jumped forward and scooped the little cube up. Splinter kicked Saki into the wall, before both of them retreated out of the room, intent on finding the others.

* * *

Raph growled as he eyed the army of Foot soldiers in the outside corridor. He looked at Casey. "Protect Leo." He growled at him.

Casey nodded, knowing better than to argue with him right now.

Turning to Mikey, Raph spoke in a barely audible tone. "Distract them. I'm gonna do somethin'."

Mikey nodded, before jumping at the soldiers.

Raph quickly strode over to the back wall, before taking out a small bomb that Don had given to him. Pressing the button, Raph quickly threw it at the wall before jumping away.

There was a small explosion, not big enough to injure any of them, but big enough to get the job done.

The wall cracked and began to collapse, a huge hole forming around the small window.

Raph quickly grabbed Leo, hoisting him over his shoulder, before jumping out. Then, he helped Casey and Mikey out.

Then, after he ordered Mikey to take Leo and run, Raph took out another bomb. This one was a whole lot more powerful than the other. Throwing it in, Raph took off running.

There was a muffled explosion behind him.

* * *

Don screeched to a halt in front of a circuit box. Grinning at a sudden idea, Don gave the small cube to Splinter, before opening the circuitry box. There, inside, was a whole bunch of wires, running everywhere. Don kept grinning as he yanked out all the wires, and then began to do creative rewiring.

Splinter watched his son, his ears picking up the distant pounding of feet. Splinter knew that this was it.

He quickly squeezed the cube, which glowed red, before turning black again. Then, Splinter crushed the cube into tiny little pieces.

Don smiled as he nodded to Splinter. "We have five minutes before this building is blown sky-high. Let's get outta here!"

Splinter nodded, before kicking open a window, breaking the glass. They both jumped out, grabbing a TV line as they fell, and then sliding down safely onto another building.

5…

Mikey blinked in surprise as Leo glowed red for a second, before realizing what happened. Shredder's control was gone.

4…

Raph ran faster, knowing what was about to happen. Don had called him a few seconds earlier.

3…

Don and Splinter jumped across the building as fast as they could, before jumping down into a random alley. Then, they quickly jumped down into a manhole.

2…

Mikey found another manhole. Lowering Leo down first, he jumped down after him, before running faster.

1…

Casey followed Mikey, then Raph.

0.

There was a muffled explosion, which shook a few debri off the wall of the sewers.

Don grinned as he knew that he'd been successful.

* * *

_WAHOO! Now, all that's left is Leo's recovery…_

_R&R PLEASE!_


	8. We Struggle To Overcome

_YES! I finished Caerulus Aurae: The Legend. I'm so happy! Now all that's left is to finish three more stories and start a whole new one (the sequel to Caerulus Aurae: The Legend). Whew. _

_**DISCAIMER:** I don't own anything, except the title of the story and the title of the chapters and the story plot. Everything else, I'm just borrowing._

_So, a few things to note:_

_Words in ITALICS are THOUGHTS.

* * *

_

Chapter 7: _We struggle to overcome_

Leo groaned as he opened his eyes. He hurt so much!

Blinking, he realized two things. One, it was warm. Two, he was lying on something soft…

Leo looked around in a daze. He's got to be dreaming…

There was a roof above him, made of stone, decorated with elaborate blue swirls. There was a desk near one of the walls, pencils and pens neatly placed into a cup, papers neatly staked into two columns…

A chair placed in front of the desk; a small shelf across from it, a shelf filled with books; across from there was a small stand for two Katanas…

Leo kept staring. He was in his room…there was no bloody way that could be! He was just dreaming this.

Leo felt his heart sink. Yes. This was a dream. When he opens his eyes, he'll be back in that small cage.

Leo sighed. He so did wish that this were true…

Tears prickled in the corners of his eyes. Why did he have to dream this? Why?

* * *

This time, he kept his eyes closed. He didn't want to wake up and see that it really had been a dream.

It was still warm…but that could be because he was ill.

Leo heard shuffling down the corridor. His heart sank, despite how much he tried to make himself believe that it was really a dream…

Saki was coming to check up on him…

The door quietly opened, and footsteps could be heard coming in. "Leo? Are you awake?"

Leo's eyes shot open and he stared up at the face of Mikey in surprise. He blinked as he looked around the room. It wasn't a dream…

He felt his heart jump with glee as he surveyed his room again. But how'd he get here?

Maybe he just dreamt it all. Dreamt that Saki had attacked the Lair, that his brothers turned abusive, that he'd traded his soul, that he'd been a prisoner…

But than why'd he hurt so if it had been a dream?

Suddenly, he realized that Mikey was talking. Zoning back, Leo listened.

"—You've been out for about two days…did you know how worried we were? Don was afraid that you wouldn't wake…you had a nasty fever, but it's gone down now…God! We were so damn worried! Sorry we couldn't get you earlier…but well, I'm so sorry Leo! I feel like a total jerk right now…we abused you…God, it just seems so damn unlikely, but—"

Mikey kept on talking, but Leo wasn't listening.

'_Abused? God, no! It wasn't a dream! Oh god no…'_ Leo thought in panic.

Then, suddenly the door opened and Don walked in. "Mikey!" He said in surprise, stopping. "What are you doing?"

Mikey looked at him in surprise. "Leo's awake, and well—"

"He needs rest! He's pretty wounded!…Leo?" Don asked in surprise, staring at his brother.

Leo was shaking now. _'Everything happened…no! But then why am I not in that cage? Did Saki have enough of me and decided that he'd rather have my bros? NO! Does that mean that everything's gonna start all over again? God, anything but that! I don't think I'll be able to handle it…'_

Don stepped closer to him, his face showing worry. But Leo just saw a menacing expression. Despite the pain and without a second thought, Leo rolled away, falling off of the bed, before rolling under it. It was a pathetic hiding place, but Leo didn't care. He closed his eyes and covered his head, praying to whoever listened that they'd just go away…

Don ran around the bed before falling to his knees. "LEO? Goddamn it!" He whispered, but Leo heard. Thinking that Don was angry with him, Leo scooted further inward, shaking like a little leaf.

Don sighed, before willing himself to calm down. Him cursing only scared Leo. He probably got enough of that…

"Leo? I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." He said soothingly, trying to coax Leo out from under there, as if Leo was a scared little puppy.

But Leo just froze, clearly refusing.

Don sighed before looking up at Mikey, who was still standing in the same place he had been. "Get Master Splinter." Mikey nodded, before shooting one last look at the bed with Leo under it, before rushing out.

Don looked under the bed again, before trying once again to coax Leo out.

* * *

Raph and Casey were watching TV, while April and Splinter were playing chess, when Mikey rushed in yelling.

Raph glared at him. "Shut up and tell us why the bloody hell ya yellin'."

Mikey ignored Raph. "Master Splinter! Leo's awake—"

Raph jumped up. "He's awake! Can we go—"

Splinter held up a hand, shushing him.

Mikey continued. "—But he's hiding under the bed, refusing to come out!"

Splinter's eyes widened before he stood up quickly, and rushing to Leo's room.

* * *

Don looked up just as Splinter appeared in the room. "He's not coming out!" Don said sadly, pointing under the bed. "He's shaking…"

Splinter nodded before kneeling down beside his son. Looking under the bed, he saw two eyes, glazed over with fear. "My son?"

Leo just shrank back. He'd failed Splinter; he was a failure. He'd only want to punish him too. And Leo didn't think that he could take any more pain…

Splinter sighed as he slowly shifted back into a kneeling position. He shook his head at the expectant faces in the doorway.

Raph's eyes flashed. He was already pissed at what happened and Leo being afraid of them wasn't helping.

He growled in anger, as he shoved past them and stomped in to the room. "Leo, get your fuckin' ass out here and quit this fuckin' idiocy."

Splinter stood up quickly. "Raphael…" He said in a low, warning voice.

Raph rounded towards him. "_What?_ Is it now okay that he's hidin' under the damn bed like some fuckin' puppy?"

"Raphael…" The tone was much sharper now.

"Oh sure! Let's all go hide under some damn bed shakin' as if the damn world was gonna fall onto our fuckin' heads!"

"_ENOUGH."_ Splinter's tone was now sharp and deadly quiet. No one said a word, not even Raph.

Splinter's eyes were ablaze. No one had ever seen him so angry before. _"Get into your room, Raphael, and do NOT come out until I say so!"_

Raph hesitated, but when Splinter took a step towards him, he fled.

Leo was almost paralyzed with fear. Out of all of this, he only could understand that Splinter was angry. VERY angry. And completely ignoring the blatant fact that he was angry with Raph, Leo shrank back, very sure that the only reason that Splinter was angry was because of him. Hell, he had no clue how the hell he'd lived through the past four weeks, but now he knew that if he'd live through tonight, then he'd be the luckiest person in the universe.

Leo bowed his head, burying it into his arms. He felt tears prickling in his eyes. Why him?

* * *

April had been watching this silently, but now, she spoke up. "Everyone, GET OUT."

Everyone looked at her in surprise. Splinter sighed. "Ms. O'Neil…"

April shook her head. "Don't, Master Splinter. I'm sorry, but don't you DARE try to say you're helping. Leo's hiding under the bed, scared to death of you all, and you aren't helping one bit. Right now, I think Leo would rather jump from a 90 story building than be in the same room with you guys."

Silence followed that. April took a deep breath before continuing. "Don't you think it's a bit much? Leo spent the last four weeks being yelled at, cursed at, and goddamn it, _abused_. What do you expect! Him coming home and immediately pretending that none of it ever happened! That the four weeks never happened! Hell no."

Leo's breaths were coming slower now. At least someone was maybe going to help him. Maybe.

Don looked down at the floor, crossing his arms. "Yeah. You're right. You're right…"

Splinter did not say anything. He just let his hands hang loosely by his side, his expression sad and thoughtful.

April nodded sadly. "Please. Just go."

There was a shuffle of feet and then the door closed. "Leo?"

Leo opened his eyes and looked out from the dark at a pair of feet.

"Their gone." April knelt down beside the bed, peeking under it. "You can come out now. They won't hurt you." _'Not like they would…'_

But Leo didn't know that. April smiled gently at Leo as he slowly crawled out on the opposite side, not really trusting April that much but trusting her enough to come out.

'_Amazing how just four weeks, about thirty days, could completely destroy a person's trust…'_ She thought as she slowly sat up into a kneeling position.

Leo jumped at the movement, before drawing back into a corner as she stood. He quickly curled up as she started to move towards him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, don't worry Leo. I would _never_ hurt you."

Leo, although he knew that, still curled into the corner as if he thought that if he curled up enough, then he'd disappear.

April knelt down beside him. "It's okay." She whispered before smiling. "Are you hungry?"

Leo blinked before looking at her surprised. Then, he smiled. It was a small smile, barely there, but April noticed.

'_But there's always hope…'

* * *

_

_YES! Only three more chapters left and then we're done!_

_R&R PLEASE!_


	9. The Shadows Still Clinging

_Waves a flag of victory. I FINISHED SNOW-COVERED MEMORIES! Cheers. _

_**DISCAIMER:** I don't own anything, except the title of the story and the title of the chapters and the story plot. Everything else, I'm just borrowing._

_So, a few things to note:_

_Words in ITALICS are THOUGHTS.

* * *

_

Chapter 8: _The shadows still clinging_

"So?"

April had called together an emergency meeting. Everyone, except Leo, was there. Raph, as well, even though he was still impatient and pissed about what happened.

April sighed. "I don't think you guys really understand the situation here—"

Raph snorted at that, interrupting April for the second time. "What's there to get? Leo's afraid of us. So what? It'll go away—"

"It's_ NOT_ so what!" April snapped. "Leo isn't _afraid _of you—"

"Oh really?" Raph said sarcastically. "'Cause I kinda got the idea that he hid under the bed…"

"—He's _terrified_ of you!" April stated, raising her voice to be heard above Raph.

Raph immediately shut up. "Wha?"

Mikey also looked at April surprised. "Terrified?"

"Yes terrified! He refused to come out while you were there, and still was shaking in fear after you all left! And this sort of thing _isn't_ going to go away!" April yelled.

Raph gritted his teeth stubbornly at that. "Oh yes it is! We just gotta pretend it ain't there—"

"That'll just make things worse!"

"IT WON'T!" Raph roared over April, jumping up.

"But isn't Raph right?" Mikey asked timidly, his eyes wide. "The Shred-head's gone now, so everything will be fine, right?"

Don, who had been silent throughout the whole thing, now spoke up. "No. It's not okay. The damage is already there."

Raph snorted, making an irritated face. "Damage. What damage? Sure, Leo's banged up a lil', but—"

"A LITTLE?" April screeched. "HE'S MANAGED TO BREAK TWO RIBS AND AN ANKLE, NOT TO MENTION NEEDING A BLOOD TRANSFUSION BECAUSE OF ALL THE BLOOD HE'S LOST, _AND_ IF THAT'S NOT ENOUGH, HE NEEDED A WHOLE BUNCH OF STITCHES BECAUSE MOST OF HIS CUTS ARE BONE-DEEP! I THINK _THAT_ QUALIFIES AS MORE THAN A LITTLE!"

Raph crossed his arms, looking bored at April's outburst. "So? He's wounded. He can heal. He did so so many times before, didn't he?"

Don shook his head. "This isn't _physical_ wounds Raph. It's _mental_ wounds I'm talking about."

"Mental wounds. What kind of shit is that? Is Leo suddenly a retard or somethin'?"

Don shook his head harder, slamming his hands onto the table as he stood up. "You're not listening Raph!"

"Well maybe I don't _want_ to listen! Leo's gonna be fine!"

Casey jumped up as well. "He ain't gonna be fine! _You _didn't see how he cowered in front of us jus' 'cause he spilt some damn trash! _You _didn't see how scared he looked jus' 'cause I raised my hand 'ta confort him! _HE AIN'T JUS' GONNA BE FINE!"_

But the fire in Raph's eyes was raging. They knew that he was refusing to believe it. They knew that what they were saying wasn't going to Raph's head.

Don threw up his hands into the air. "I GIVE UP! If you're so damn hard-headed, Raph, then I GIVE UP!" Don, at that, pushed back his chair and began to march to the door, when a voice rang out.

"SIT DOWN."

Everyone turned, shocked, towards Mikey.

Mikey was shaking from rage, his hands clenched into fists, and his eyes full of tears. "EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN."

Don shakily sat down, quite unused to the sudden character change in Mikey. No funny jokes, no childish actions, just pure anger.

Raph stood still, silently challenging Mikey's newfound authority.

Mikey glared at him. "Sit your ass down, Raphael. I've had enough of your arrogance and shit for today."

Raph blinked in surprise as he numbly sat. Mikey just cursed. Twice. He, Raph, usually cursed.

Mikey was now glaring at them all. "You all bloody well act like it's all Leo's fault. But it ain't! Did we somehow forget that Leo gave up his bloody life and traded it for ours? Or does that somehow not matter? Did we somehow forget that Leo could've just run away whenever he wanted? But he didn't did he?"

Mikey paused for a breather before he continued again, his anger getting the best of him.

"Guess what? There's a window in almost every room in that goddamn apartment! There's a fire-escape ladder that he could've crawled down even if he was missing a foot. There's the staircase. We aren't that far up. Even a person without ninja training could jump out of a window and live with no broken bones. Leo could've escaped at anytime. But he didn't, did he? He stayed and figured out what the bloody hell was wrong with us and fixed it the only way he could. And how do we thank him? By throwing everything away that he did and blaming everything on him." Mikey's voice suddenly changed from anger to sarcasm. "Yes! It's all his fault that we're fighting! Yes, it's all his fault that we had to face the Shredder. It's all his fault that we beat the Shredder. It's all his fault we were abusive in the first place! In fact—" Mikey grabbed a random mug and threw it onto the floor, so that it smashed into a million pieces. "—That was Leo's fault too! Sure, it was just a mug and we'll blatantly ignore the fact that he's at the other end of the Lair and he was nowhere near the stupid mug, but we'll all forget that and blame it all on him!"

Mikey stopped, he was huffing now; the anger still being there, but not enough for him to continue.

Splinter slowly smiled, leaning back into his chair, a gleam of pride flickering in his eyes towards Michaelangelo. "I could not agree more." Was all he said.

Don, too, smiled slowly. "God we're so stupid! We're sitting here arguing instead of focusing on Leo. This isn't about us. This is about Leo. He's been hurt, bad. And instead of helping, we're doing the exact opposite! Making it worse!"

Raph, too, smiled, seemingly calm now. "Fine." He mumbled. "I don't like this, but I'm listening."

And for the first time in days, the tension that was so thick you could cut it with a knife, lessened.

* * *

(a week later) 

Things were going smoothly. They had managed to work out a plan on how to deal with Leo. The first and foremost thing was for them to regain Leo's trust in them by showing that they _will not_ abuse him.

But that had turned out to be the hardest step of all.

Mikey, after his little outburst had calmed down incredibly and was now more than willing to do anything to help his elder brother.

Raph, too, had a sudden change in character, much to the surprise of everyone. Instead of being rebellious and impatient with the whole thing, he did exactly the opposite. He calmed down and was actually patient with Leo for once, not fighting with him every chance he got like he used to.

April had become Leo's counselor, always trying to reassure him about everything. Telling him that they won't hurt him and that they love him.

Of course, Leo was still jumping at every small move anyone made, and he was always tense and ready to bolt, but slowly, ever so slowly, he began to relax around them.

And three more weeks slowly passed like that. With Leo progressing slowly, ever so slowly to recovery.

* * *

_Sorry for the so brief descriptions and the hurried recovery. The last chapter will definitely be longer and more an in depth analysis of what Leo went and is going through. Smiles. Notice the 'went' word? And are you confused? You'd better be, because it isn't going to be about what you are thinking right now…_

_R&R PLEASE!_


	10. But Healing Continues

_I've written to the fanfiction people about the lyrics being acceptable if you clearly state that you don't own them. I've written to them TWICE but no one's answered! Does anyone know about any address I could e-mail them again? 'Cause I think I state it really clear I don't own the lyrics. So it's gotta be acceptable right? (we do disclaimers saying we don't own the characters, but we can use them. So if we don't own the lyrics, we can still use them, right?)_

_I could be wrong though…_

_**DISCAIMER:** **I don't own ANYTHING, except for the title of the story and the title of the chapters and story plot. Everything else, I'm just borrowing.**_

_So, a few things to note:_

_Words in ITALICS are THOUGHTS. _

_:italics: are dreams/memories_

_**O.O**_

**_I MISS CALCULATED! I HAVE TWO MORE CHAPTERS TO WRITE! THIS ONE AND THE EPLOGUE THINGIE! SOOOOOO SORRY! T.T_**

_I think I own the movie "Murderer's Citadel"._

* * *

Chapter 9: _But healing continues_

_: "Hey Leo. Get your fat ass over here. I wanna show ya somethin'."_

_Leo blinked in surprise as he heard Raph call for him. How weird. He had ignored him for three days and now he was suddenly talking with him? Something wasn't right._

_But…_

_If he declined…then Lord help him._

_Leo sighed as he put down the broom. He'd finish sweeping the kitchen later._

_He stepped into the living room, where Raph was sitting in front of the tv. _

_Raph didn't look up when he stepped in, but Leo knew that he knew he was there._

"_I wanna show ya somethin'. Sit there." He pointed to the floor. _

_Leo raised an eyebrow but complied, knowing better than to refuse. A good slash on his upper shoulder was a painful reminder…_

_But Leo didn't see the evil smirk on Raph's face as he pressed the play button on the remote. The paused movie began to play again._

_Leo's eyes widened as he recognized the movie. Casey had checked it out for them to watch, but none of them liked it at all—at least, Casey, April and he didn't…_

_The movie was called "Murderer's Citadel". It was rated R, but if there were a rating higher than R, it would definitely go there._

_It was about this guy and this girl who accidentally get lost in the woods and never return. Then, two years later, the same thing repeats. Finally, the government sends out its top five agents (three guys/two girls) to investigate. They are sure that a known serial killer is hiding there. _

_The five agents find a person in the woods. The person is just walking. He sees them and warns them to turn back. There are ghosts in these parts. Especially in the old citadel in the center of the forest. The agents laugh at this._

_The agents go on. The person watches them, and when they are out of sight, he disappears. The agents meanwhile reach the citadel and go in. They find nothing unusual, except for the fact that it's been abandoned for a good century or so. They decide to turn in for the night, since they're here and tired. _

_The next morning one agent has disappeared. Then slowly, slowly, all of them disappear, each one found by another brutally murdered. The last agent, a girl, tries to flee. But the doors all lead to rooms full of skulls and dead bodies. Finally, she finds the real killer. It turns out to be a demon from hell. It ends up killing her, ending the movie._

_But that wasn't why they hated it. It was because of HOW the monster killed its victims. It used ropes, knives, anything. It even possessed one of the agents and murdered the other by first raping her. It was WAY too gruesome of a movie._

_And right now, Raph had the film start at the part when the demon had possessed an agent and now was going to go rape its victim._

_Leo quickly looked away as the possessed agent cornered its victim._

_But there was a thin, sharp sai under his chin the instant he looked away. _

"_Look back and watch." Raph ordered. Leo shuddered, but complied, knowing a slit throat won't do much of a good. _

_So he was forced to watch the extremely detailed and long fifteen-minute piece of the victim being violated and tortured to death._

_But the worst part was that Raph had laughed through out the whole thing. He somehow found it funny…_

_At the end of that part, Raph paused it and forced Leo to look at him. He was smiling, a cruel glint in his eyes._

"_You know why I showed you?"_

_Leo waited patiently, even though inside he was scarred to death of the answer._

"_Because if you tell anyone, especially April, then she's gonna end up like that gal in the movie. Get that?"_

_Leo carefully nodded; making sure that the knife did not cut his neck…_

_The dream shifted then, and he was back in that little closet. All three of his brothers were there, surrounding him._

_He was too wounded to stand, having received new wounds from them. He just lay on the ground, curled up, waiting for the next blows._

_They were standing above him, laughing._

"_You'll never be good enough."_

"_You good for nothing, lazy, piece of shit."_

"_You get us all in trouble."_

"_You made our life miserable."_

"_Why can't you just die? Face it. It'll make everyone's lives a lot easier."_

_The same words, repeated over and over again. He closed his eyes, knowing that they were true…_

_The dream shifted again, but this time, he was younger. He was barely six. _

_His brothers were playing tag. Leo's eyes widened as Mikey strayed too close to the edge of the sewers._

"_Careful!" He yelled, jumping forward. _

_But Mikey just laughed and ducked under his grasp. "You're such an idiot Leo!"_

_Raph laughed at that. "Yeah, you stick your big nose into everything! We're six, for god's sake!"_

"_We're not kids, Leo." Don stated. "Nothing will happen—"_

_Just then, there was a splash. Mikey had fallen in, just like Leo had feared._

_Leo immediately jumped in, grabbing Mikey, and dragging him out from the sewer water._

_Splinter had arrived two seconds later, having heard their panicking cries. After he checked that all of them were fine, he sent them all except for Leo, to their rooms._

_He glared at Leo. "I have told you many times that you need to watch out for your brothers. You are the elder, and the role model. I am very disappointed in you, Leonardo."_

_Leo's eyes widened in realization. Splinter thought that he hadn't been watching his brothers! That he LET Mikey fall in!_

"_But Sensei—"_

"_Go to your room. I am very disappointed in you. I do not want excuses." Splinter stated clearly._

"_But—"_

"_I have told you to go! Do you wish for more punishment?"_

_Leo looked at the ground. Splinter didn't believe him. No one did. Maybe he did let Mikey fall in. After all, everyone was right and he was wrong…_

_He was always wrong…:_

_

* * *

_

Leo shot up in bed. Three weeks had passed, but the dreams were still there.

His gaze meandered towards his twin Katanas. He knew he shouldn't practice…but he needed something to clear his mind.

He debated a little, but the urge to clear his mind and settle his thoughts won. He slowly got out of his bed, limping a bit because of the broken ankle, and picked up his swords.

It was only three in the morning, so he didn't need to be worried about being caught.

* * *

He stood in the darkness. He didn't dare to turn on the lights, for fear of someone seeing them. 

But he didn't mind. It wasn't so dark that he couldn't see at all. He could see shapes around him, plus he knew the dojo from front to back. So he wasn't worried.

He silently drew his Katanas, before starting of with easy movements, slowly going through years and years of training.

And before he knew it, three hours had passed.

* * *

Raph yawned as he walked to the kitchen, to make some coffee. He hadn't slept so great last night, being plagued with dreams of him abusing Leo and then the Shredder laughing in his face… 

Suddenly, his ears picked up faint whooshing sounds. He froze. He knew that sound very well.

It was being made by swords.

With a sinking heart, Raph snuck towards the dojo, knowing whom it was.

Sure enough, Leo was in the dojo, completely absorbed in his practice. He was a bit slower than usual because of the ankle, but he was still pretty impressive.

He heard movements behind him, and he quickly whirled around and hinted for Mikey to be quiet. Mikey nodded, then curiously looked into the dojo.

Pretty soon, the whole family including Splinter, April and Casey were watching Leo as well. They knew that Leo shouldn't be practicing, but they knew better than to interrupt him now. He could very well accidentally lash out at them and decapitate them before they even had a chance to take a breath. They had to wait till he stopped.

Then, Leo started to slow down before stopping. Everyone relaxed, thinking that Leo had stopped finally.

But then, Leo suddenly launched into a whole different type of kata. (Kata is a series of movements)

This one, however, was unfamiliar to any of them.

Mikey looked at Splinter. "What kind of kata is that? I haven't seen that one…" He whispered.

Splinter shook his head, staring at his eldest in awe. "I have not seen this kata. I am unfamiliar with this one…" He replied quietly.

But just as Leo did a spinning kick, he accidentally landed on his broken ankle. Pain flashed momentarily across his face, before he collapsed to his knees, his face masking the pain this time.

Don was beside Leo in a second. "Leo! You okay? I told you, you shouldn't practice with that ankle!"

Leo, who hadn't yet noticed them, now visibly jumped at the sound of Don's voice.

Then, slow realization dawned on his face. "Sorry." He mumbled, staring at the floor.

Raph sighed as he recognized one of the habits that Leo had picked up. Staring at the floor and apologizing for everything.

Mikey grinned happily as he skipped in, landing to a halt near Leo, who flinched a bit. "Where'd ya learn that awesome set of katas?"

Leo blinked in surprise as he looked up at Mikey.

Splinter nodded, stepping in, looking intently at his eldest. "It was very impressive. But where did you learn this? I do not recognize this particular kata."

Leo quickly looked down. He muttered something.

Mikey blinked. "Whadya say? I couldn't hear…"

Leo quickly stood up, despite the bad ankle.

Don was about to tell him not to do that, when Leo spoke, shocking them all with his answer.

"I made it up."

Then, Leo was gone. He quickly ran out of the dojo and disappeared into his room. Even with a broken ankle, he could move amazingly fast.

* * *

Don had gone to Leo's room, since he wouldn't come out and that ankle looked bad. 

He knocked on the door and waited, before opening the door.

The lights were off and the whole room was pitch black. Don fingered the wall for the light switch, and when he found it, flicked it on.

There was a small shifting in the corner of the room, and Don looked there.

Leo was huddled in the corner behind the bed, his face buried in his arms, and his wounded ankle stretched out in front of him.

"Leo?" Don asked carefully. "You okay?"

Leo didn't answer.

Don sighed before holding up the first aide kit he brought with him. "I need to check your ankle. Can I?" He was always careful with Leo now. Careful not to freak him out and to show him that he won't hurt him. So far, he had gained more of Leo's trust than his brothers. Leo was also starting to talk to him.

Leo didn't answer, but he nodded.

Don nodded, before slowly moving over to where Leo was and knelt down beside him. He quickly checked the ankle.

"No serious damage done." He informed Leo happily. "But you should stay off the leg as much as you can. Would you like me to make some crutches?"

"No."

Don nodded at the answer. "'Kay."

"I needed to think."

Don looked up at Leo in surprise, before he understood. "Oh. Well, we all need that sometimes."

"So you're not angry?"

For the second time, Don looked at Leo in surprise. "No. Why would I? Yeah, I'm not happy about the ankle, but we all need to think."

There was a silence as Leo watched Don wrap up his ankle again, renewing the makeshift cast.

Then, as Don was packing away his medical stuff, Leo reached under the bed and took out a cd. He handed it to Don, who took it in surprise.

"What's this?" Don asked, turning the cd over. There, with Mikey's messy handwriting, was scribbled the word 'Cd Mix'. Don blinked. "So that's where Mikey's cd went! He's been looking for it for days! But why—"

Leo looked down at his hands. "Listen to track sixteen. I think you'll get me then."

Don raised an eyebrow, but didn't press further. "'Kay. I'll listen to it. You get some food, you hear? You're seriously underweight you know."

Leo nodded, but Don could tell that he wasn't really listening.

* * *

Back in his room, Don put away his medical supplies, before sitting down on the floor, next to a cd player. 

Putting the cd in, he quickly forwarded to track sixteen.

He then grabbed a book that was turned to a page on Mental Abuse, and started reading it, while listening to the music start to play.

Then, he froze as he listened to the lyrics, immediately recognizing the song. It was by Linkin Park, and titled 'Easier to Run'.

(A/N: I am not allowed to add lyrics, because I do not want to get in trouble. However, if it helps anyone, pretend that the lyrics are here. Thank you.)

After the song played through, Don sat in silence as another song started up, this time 'Everytime' by Britney Spears. But Don wasn't listening. He just stared at the cd player, not paying attention.

And he stayed that way for a good ten minutes.

* * *

Leo sat in the darkness. 

_Maybe it wasn't a good idea to give him the cd? After all, what if—_

_It **was** a good idea. Don's smart. He'll understand._

_But what if he **doesn't** get it?_

_He has to get it. I can't get better if he doesn't understand._

_Do I really want him to understand?_

_Do I want to get better at all?_

_What if I get better than it starts all over again?_

_The cube was destroyed. Don told me. April told me._

_But what if the Shredder can replicate it?_

_I can't handle it again…_

_:"You fuckin' stupid bastard! Can't you do anythin' right?" _

_Yells. They were there again._

_Leo quivered as he looked down at the broken mug. He didn't mean to break it. Honestly._

_But they didn't care. No one ever cared…:_

Leo shook his head to clear it of the memory. He hated those memories. Why were they still here? He wanted them gone…

And that was why Don had to understand.

_:He was running down the sewers…:_

Leo groaned as he began to beat his head against the wall. The wall was thick and it faced to the outside of the Lair, so no one would hear it easily. Besides, the pain would keep the memories away…if at least for a while.

* * *

"Yo, Don! What's this 'emergency meeting' about?" Raph asked impatiently as he sat down on the couch in the living room. 

Don didn't answer, just stared sullenly at them.

"My son?" Splinter asked, looking concerned with Don's sudden attitude change.

Don said nothing, only moved to the cd player next to him, and put the cd into it. He quickly forwarded it to track sixteen. Then, he hit play. "Listen to the lyrics." Was all he said.

"Hey!" Mikey shouted standing up. "Where'd ya get**_ my_** cd?"

Don didn't answer, only hinted for Mikey to be quiet.

Mikey slowly sat down as he began to listen.

All of them were listening now. Listening hard.

When the song ended, Don paused it. This time, he spoke up. His tone was sullen as well. "Leo gave it to me. He said to listen to track sixteen. That I'd understand him better then."

Raph crossed his arms and leaned back onto the couch. Then,

"That song reminded me of somethin'."

All of them looked at Raph. But Raph wasn't looking at them. He was staring intently at the coffee table in front of him, deep in thought. "Remember when we were ten?—

_(Flashback)_

_Don was busy reading a book on some laws of physics, while Mikey and Raph were both busy playing video games._

_All of a sudden, Leo ran into the room, looking really excited. "Guys, guys! Guess what!"_

"_Yeah, what." Raph said, not looking up from the tv. _

_But Leo didn't care that none of his brothers were actually paying attention to him. He was too excited._

"_I made up a whole new kata!"_

_That caught his brothers' attention. But not in the way Leo hoped it would._

_Raph slowly put down the video game control, before slowly standing up. He had just had a small growth spurt, so he was about the same height as Leo. "You always gotta be Mr. High-and-Mighty, don't ya?"_

_Leo's smile disappeared. He cocked his head, looking at his brother in surprised. "What do you mean?"_

"_You know what I mean."_

_Leo slowly shook his head. "No…"_

_Raph's eyes flashed. "Why don't ya jus' go away and leave us alone, Splinter Junior!"_

_Leo blinked, a little taken aback. What had he done wrong? "What—"_

"_We're tired of your constantly hogging all the attention around here! We're tired of your goody-goody attitude! We're tired of you being the best at everything! We're tired of you, PERIOD."_

_Leo felt tears whelm up, but he forced them back. "But don't you want to see the kata that I made up?"_

"_NO!" Raph yelled, taking a step closer to Leo._

_Mikey scowled at Leo. "We don't! You being best at everything is bad enough!"_

_Leo stared at his brothers in complete shock. "But—"_

"_Look, Leo." Don spoke up, finally looking up from his book. "We don't need you to show us how good you are all the time. We see it everyday. We're just trying to be best at something right now, and you just go and ruin it for everyone! Leave us alone! God! Is that too much to ask?"_

_Leo opened his mouth to say something, when Splinter stepped into the room. _

"_What is going on here?" He asked sternly, looking at each of them._

"_Leo is bragging that he made up a new kata." Mikey immediately tattle-tailed. _

_Splinter raised an eyebrow before looking at his eldest. "Is this true?"_

_Leo looked at him. "No! I was just going to show them my kata that I made up! But—"_

"_See! See!" Raph said, pointing at Leo. "He's doing it again!"_

"_Enough, Raphael." Splinter said, before looking back at his eldest._

"_Leonardo. Enough. Katas are very difficult series of movements. It is not easily created. You either have practiced a kata wrong, or have seen a kata in a book which I have not taught—"_

"_But that's not it—"_

"_Leonardo! Enough! Bragging is a very bad thing to do! I will have none of this, do you hear me?"_

_Leo looked at him with wide eyes. No one believed him… "B—"_

"_Do you hear me, Leonardo?"_

_Leo lowered his head. "Yes."_

"_Good. Now apologize to your brothers for your behavior and then go to your room."_

_Leo obediently turned and apologized, before marching off. There, behind locked doors, he quietly tore up every single note he had written on how to do that kata. _

_There, behind locked doors, he vowed never again to make up katas. Never again to blend different movements into one. _

_And there, behind locked doors, he cried._

_And no one knew but him._

_(end flashback)_

_**

* * *

**_

_SORRY FOR THE MISCALCULATION! The next chapter will DEFINITLY be the LAST one._

_I'M SO SORRY!_

_R&R PLEASE!_


	11. And All Is Well

_Whew. I came home early. I'm still sick and really delirious. _

_Anyways, I've decided that I won't do an epilogue. This chapter will be both the last chapter and the epilogue._

_**DISCAIMER:** **I don't own ANYTHING, except for the title of the story and the title of the chapters and story plot. Everything else, I'm just borrowing.**_

_So, a few things to note:_

_Words in ITALICS are THOUGHTS. _

_:italics: are dreams/memories_

_Anyways, THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED!_

_Oh, and Madvy, I agree with you one hundred percent! (maybe you could write to them as well…the more the people who write to them, the more they'll be forced to listen!)_

_

* * *

_

_(thinks a little. Then decides she's too sick to care.)_

_Silhouettes above the cradle, hold me down  
They won't let me go the wrong way…_

_--Silhouettes; by Smile Empty Soul_

* * *

Chapter 10: _And all is well._

Leo sat in the dark, listening to the silent whispers from the kitchen. He was too far away to hear what they were saying, but somehow, Leo knew.

I think they understood… 

_At least, I hope so._

He closed his eyes, before smirking as he remembered what he said to them after they caught him training.

He was so stupid. He should've known they were there.

They were impressed… 

_Sure they were. Just like they were back then._

_They said so._

_People say things all the time. It doesn't mean they think that too._

_Remember what the little child…what's her name…Emily said to you? 'The eyes are the key to the soul'._

_So?_

_Their eyes said that they were pretty honest._

Leo sighed as he opened his eyes again. He hated arguing with himself. But he'd noticed that he'd been doing it for some time now. He suddenly chuckled.

_Yeah. Not only am I scarred to death of my own brothers; I'm mentally unstable too._

Leo hit his head on the wall purposefully. _I'm so stupid. Why would my brothers be pleased? I just showed them again how 'good' I was compared to them. And they hate that…_

_They must hate me even more now…_

Leo slowly shook his head as the familiar feeling of being cold took hold of him. He shuddered.

_I had promised myself years ago that I would NEVER make up a stupid kata ever again. _

_I promised, and then I broke it…_

_(flashback)_

_:He couldn't help it. He was just so bored. Leo sighed as he picked up his Katanas and slid into a familiar stance._

_Even though he had torn up all the notes into itty-bitty bits, he had practiced it so much that he had memorized it. _

_He felt so bad that he was going against everyone's wishes…but he couldn't help it._

'_Everyone has their own hobbies right?' He silently asked himself, trying to justify his actions. But the familiar feeling of guilt and being cold washed over him. _

_He slowed down to a stop. He nervously glanced at the door, as if waiting for someone to just burst in. But no one came._

_But Leo shivered. He bit his lip, then put his swords back, perfectly in place. Splinter would be angry if he knew that he practiced without permission…_

_He quickly and quietly sneaked out of the dojo, although it was completely unnecessary. Nobody but him was home._

_But still in his mind they were always home. Always watching. Always keeping him from doing the wrong thing.:_

Leo shivered again as he remembered that. It had been two more months before he practiced in secret again. But he had only practiced for five minutes then as well. Then, he had quit for a few years. Just recently did he start to make up katas again.

There was a knock on the door, interrupting his thoughts and almost making him jump out of his shell.

He was so glad they knocked now. He had time to prepare for them. Usually the only warning he had was the door slamming open…

The door opened and Donny stepped in. He closed the door behind him, but did not turn on the lights. Instead, he just stood still for a few seconds waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, before he slowly went over to Leo.

"Hey." Don said, standing in front of Leo's dark huddled form in the usual corner.

Leo blinked before looking at him. "Why…?"

"Why I didn't turn on the light?" Don finished for him, before shrugging. "I didn't want to." He slowly sat down next to Leo.

Leo tensed a little before slowly relaxing.

Suddenly, Don hugged him.

Leo, caught by surprise, immediately shut his eyes and tensed, waiting for blows, but once he realized that he wasn't going to be hurt, he cautiously opened his eyes and relaxed.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Leo blinked as he looked at Don, who was still hugging him. "Tell what?"

"How bad of a brothers we were."

"You guys got better…"

Don smirked. "Yeah. After we realized why you were doing it. To keep us safe…"

Leo stayed silent.

Don hugged him a bit tighter, unwilling to let him go. "You still could've told us. Shell. We were so horrible to you! Jeez…I can't believe that we just realized it…"

Leo looked down at his younger brother sadly. "Everyone has secrets, Donny. This was just one of mine."

Don shook his head. "You shouldn't have kept that. Jeez. How you kept it inside you for all these years…I'll never know. God! It makes me wonder that if the physical abuse wasn't really the Shredder's doing…"

Leo, this time, shook his head hard. "No. We are actually much closer now then we ever were. If you guys wanted to abuse me, I think you would've done it years ago. Now, we just do brotherly fights. Not fights like back then."

Don didn't answer right then. After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "You're right. But the guilt is still there. Man! If I had the chance to, I'd go back and start it all over again if I could…"

"But you can't." Leo pointed out, feeling braver than he ever did. Somehow, his fear of abuse was gone because his brother needed him.

Don smiled. "I know. But I still wish I could."

"I know."

Another silence.

Then, Don spoke up. "Is it too late to start over? To wipe the slate clean, so to say?"

Leo allowed a small smile on his face. "It's never too late, Don. I just think that it'll be a while before—"

"Oh not right now!" Don interrupted. "Jeez. I'm not that kind of a miracle worker! I can't wipe my own slate clean _that_ fast! Nor can you! Shell, not one can!"

Leo chuckled at that.

Don smiled as well. It was the first time he'd ever heard him laugh after the abuse…

"And about that kata you did,"

Leo tensed, waiting for the put-downs,

"Man! Everyone was so impressed! Jeez, even Raph! And you know what that means…"

Leo stared. "Raph? Impressed? Really?"

Don nodded. "Jeez. You're a miracle worker! Raph ain't never impressed about anything!"

Leo could hardly believe it. They actually liked it?

"You know…back then…I'm sorry we treated you like that. We didn't even give you a chance to show us…"

Leo shrugged. "Everyone has their own secrets…" He whispered.

Don sighed. "Yeah. Except you know all of ours, and we know none of yours."

Leo stayed silent for a few minutes, and then everything started to spill out. Everything. His feelings, his fears, everything that he had stored in himself over the years.

And Don just listened. He just listened silently, while showing that he was there and listening by hugging him.

* * *

Days had passed since that one moment. Everything had slowly improved for him. His brothers were each starting to make up for the past by trying to make things right in the present. Of course, it would be a long time before everything would be completely perfect, but they were steadily working their way towards perfection.

And in a way, all is well…Leo decided, as he slowly fell asleep in his bed, feeling safe for the first time in months.

_**

* * *

**_

_That's it people! Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please don't forget to review and tune in for my other stories as well. Thank you!_


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